


The One Where Rachel and Joey Invent Constellations

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Background Chandler Bing/Monica Geller, Community: comment_fic, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Immaturity, Innuendo, POV Alternating, POV Chandler, POV Rachel, Silly, Stargazing, visiting friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 23:50:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9295100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: "Hey, Rach, do you know any of the constellations?"Rachel shakes her head. "Other than the Big Dipper? None.""Yeah, I don't know any either. Want to make up some? It would be like finding stuff in the clouds."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt on "Any, Any, Stargazing" comment-fic (http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/784454.html?thread=101551686#t101551686). Also inspired by this post on my tumblr: http://geckogirl89.tumblr.com/post/154460913230/inkskinned-there-are-people-who-you-can-sit-and
> 
> This is set in a post-canon AU where Joey and Rachel never broke up and are both still living in New York. Chandler and Monica are living in Westchester County with the twins.
> 
> This fic starts with Rachel's POV, and it has a brief scene after the line break from Chandler's POV to conclude the story. I changed one tiny bit of wording from the original Livejournal fill.

Joey and Rachel are sitting alone in Monica and Chandler's backyard at their patio table. Monica and Chandler just went back inside to put the twins to bed after they had dinner with Rachel and Joey, who were visiting them for the weekend.  
  
A contemplative expression passes over Joey's face. "You know, I always pictured Monica getting married and living out in the suburbs."  
  
Rachel looks at Joey curiously. "Really?"  
  
"Yeah, but I always thought she'd have a pool." He grins at nothing in particular. He must be remembering some old conversation she wasn't a part of.  
  
Rachel shrugs and looks over the expansive backyard. "Well, they've got enough room for one."  
  
"Yeah." Joey pauses for a moment. "You know, I can't imagine living outside the city, but this is really nice."  
  
Rachel nods. She tilts her head to look up at the sky. "You can really see the stars out here." The last time Rachel saw so many stars was at the planetarium with Ross. That feels like a lifetime ago.  
  
Joey glances upward. "Yeah, it's really pretty." He smirks and winks at Rachel. "Not nearly as pretty as you, though."  
  
Rachel laughs, and a smile covers her face. It's amazing and kind of sweet how Joey still flirts with her after they've been together over a year.  
  
"Hey, Rach, do you know any of the constellations?"  
  
Rachel shakes her head. "Other than the Big Dipper? None."  
  
"Yeah, I don't know any either. Want to make up some? It would be like finding stuff in the clouds."  
  
Rachel gazes over at Joey, who is staring at her hopefully. She remembers how when she was a kid, she used to lay on the grass with Monica in the summer for hours as they pointed out images in the clouds. She's an adult now, but Joey always brings out her fun, playful inner child.  
  
Rachel grins. "Yeah, let's do that." She squints upward, wondering what shapes she will discover.  
  
A few minutes later, Joey is insisting that a particular group of stars resembles a pizza slice. Personally, Rachel doesn't see it. It just looks kind of like a triangle.  
  
"That's the third food related constellation you've found. Are you still hungry or something? We just had dinner."  
  
"Hey, you know how I like food. It's not any different than you and the Capri pants constellation. Which doesn't even make sense, because how would you know they look like Capri pants and not just regular pants?"  
  
Rachel sighs. "It's the proportions, Joey."  
  
Joey rolls his eyes. "Whatever." He looks back up at the sky, muttering under his breath that it "totally looks like pizza."  
  
Rachel spots a new constellation. "Oh, look! It's a halter dress!" _Well, maybe if you fudge a little._  
  
Joey doesn't argue with her, but he barely looks at the constellation. "Like the one you wore in Barbados?" His voice is soft and filled with tenderness.  
  
Rachel smiles fondly at Joey and shifts her chair to the side just a few inches until their chairs are practically touching. She holds out her hand, which Joey automatically takes, and gazes back at the stars. "Just like that," she says.  
  
For a moment, she's lost in the memory of how their relationship began until Joey makes a confused noise.  
  
"What is it?" she asks.  
  
He points to a cluster of stars. "I thought that looked like a stick figure person, but it's either got three legs or a huge..."  
  
Rachel looks over towards the stars and sees what Joey is referring to. She giggles so hard she snorts. The third appendage on that thing is preposterously gigantic.  
  
"I hope that guy doesn't have a girlfriend, because she's gonna be sore. Yikes!"  
  
Joey chuckles. "So, I guess size really isn't everything?"  
  
"There's big, but that makes me want to cross my legs." Rachel does so and squints when she sees another stick figure in the sky. "I think I found big penis guy's girlfriend. See, look!" She points out the stick figure she sees, and she traces round circles with her index finger. "And those are her boobs."  
  
Joey is throwing his head back in laughter. "They're bigger than her head!"  
  
Rachel can barely breathe through her raucous laughter. "I know!"

* * *

Jack was a little fussier than Erica tonight, and it took a few more minutes for Chandler to get him to sleep. He went downstairs to find Monica, who was standing in front of the French doors that lead to their backyard and staring at something.  
  
By the time Chandler is standing next to Monica, he notices that her face is set in a perturbed frown. He follows her gaze to find Rachel and Joey pointing at the sky and laughing like a couple of idiots.  
  
"I thought they were just stargazing at first, but then apparently something in the sky amused them." She shifts her focus to Chandler. "They're our friends, and I've known Rachel practically forever, but when they're together, they have some kind of inside language that I'll never understand."  
  
Chandler scoffs. "Knowing them, it's probably something dumb or weird." He recalls how years ago, before Joey even started to have feelings for Rachel, they ganged up on him after Joey broke the chair Chandler had used to replace Rosita and called themselves "the Cobras." At the time he had been so confused by their bizarre behavior. But looking back, it's not too different from how they are acting now.  
  
"I know what you mean," Chandler says. "I gave up trying to understand Rachel and Joey years ago. Let's just wait a few minutes and give them some time to compose themselves."  
  
Monica slips under Chandler's arm as they watch their friends be inexplicably entertained by the sky. "We'll call them in before it gets too cold."


End file.
